Automobile door latch



April 2s, 1953 E. D. DALL 2,636,375

AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Filed May 26. 1949 5 Sheets-Sheetl Ezg. 1

Apml 2s, 195s En; DALL 2,636,375

AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH- Filed May 2e. 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 n f' Innungh pril 28, 1953 E. D. DALI.

AUTOMOBILE DooR LATCH Filed May 26, 1949 .5 'Sheets-Sheet 5 F ,5 n., Ew Wm if pil 2, i953 E. D; DALL AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Filed May 26. 1949 fnl/M2 M4 zva y/W E.

Apri12s,1953 E. D. DALL 2,636,375

AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Filed May 26, 1949 v .5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Apr. 28, l1953 f AUTOMOBILE Doon LATCH Edward D. Dall, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Houdaille-Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application May26, 1949, Serial No. 95,473

This invention relates to improvements in automobile door latches and particularly to that type which is provided with a rotary bolt engageable with a keeper mounted on a door post.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide improvements in the latch release mechanism of such a door latch.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a door latch an outside latch control mechanism in combination with a locking mechanism which renders the outside control operative or inoperative without changing the apparent normal operative movements of the outside control.

Another Object of the invention is to provide in combination with a door latch mechanism an outside control for releasing the latch mechanism and a locking mechanismtherefor which does not block the normal movement of the outside control when rendering the outside control ineffective to uri-latch the door.

Another object of the invention is toprovide in a door latch an outside latch releasing mechanism employing a key rotatable plunger.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section on the broken line I-I of Figure 2, of a latch mechanism embodying my invention showing several parts of the mechanism in the normal position which they occupy when the door is open;

Figure 2 is another side elevation of the same mechanism taken at right angles to the View of Figure 1, partly in section on the broken line II-II of Figure 1, and showing the latch mechanism in the position that it occupies when the door is open;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the mechanis :shown both in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a side elevation, partly sectional as in Figure l, showing the bolt latching pawl in the position it occupies when the door is infully vlatched position;

Figure 5 is another side elevation, partly in section, showing the movement of several parts of the mechanism resulting from operating the outside control to release the rotary bolt;-

Figure 6 is another side elevation, partly sectional as in Figure 2, showing other portions of the latch mechanism in the position they occupy at the time the inside control has been fully op'- erated to release the latch mechanism;

9 Claims. (Cl. 70-135) 2 pose of illustrating positions of the safety latch bolt and the rotary bolt pawl mechanism when the door latch has entered the keeper far enough to attain the safety latch position;

Figure 11 is another phantom view illustrating the further movement of the rotary bolt into the keeper at a fully latched position;

-Figure 12 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing the relation of an outside key-controlled push button and the outside latch operator as the two are arranged for normal latch releasing operation;

Figure 13 -is a partial end section viewed from the right side of Figure 12;

Figure 14 is a diagrammatic view illustrating how the outside control may be shifted by the key controlled plunger;

Figure 15 is a diagrammatic view showing how the outside plunger may enter the slot in the outside latch control if the latter be in locking position;

Figure 16 is an end view of the plunger shown in Figure 15; i

vFigure 17 illustrates diagrammatically how the outside latch control may be restored yto normal by means of a key applied to the outside push button; v

Figure 18 is a side elevation of the keeper preferably employed with this latch;

Figure 19 is a top plan view of the part which is frequently identied in the specification as the outside control member or outside latch-control member;

Figure 20 is a front elevation of the same part shown in Figure 19;

Figure 21 is an enfl elevation of the outside control member as viewed from the right end of Figure 20;

Figure 22 is a top plan view of the push rod lock-control member;

Figure 23 is a front elevation of the same lockcontrol member;

1 operating link; and

Figure 7 is a side elevation, partly in'section,

showing the inside push rod control for the lock mechanism in locking position;

Figure 8 is a side elevation, partly in section,

showing the effect on the outside control mem- Figure 10 is a phantom view serving the pur'- I a Figure 26 is an edge elevation of the same link.

As shown on the drawings:

Referring further tothe drawings, the latch mechanism made in accordance with this invention includes a rotary bolt, or main bolt, which serves to hold the door in fully latched position, and a safety bolt whichv not only holds the door in a safety latched position but which also co- A operates with the ratchet and pawl mechanism connected with the rotary bolt for holding the latter in latched position. These main features, thus briefly referred to, may be readily observed in Figures 4, 6, 10 and 11.

' The latch mechanism employs a casing preferably formed of a single ysheet of metal having two main parts bent approximately at right langles to each other, `the plate on which the rotary bolt is mounted being designated herein as I and sometimes called the rotor plate, while the other angular extension or the plate II pivotally supports the safety latch bolt.

The rotary bolt has a striker'A arm Ilan-d a latching arm I3 and is pivotally mountedon the fixed pin I4, the outer end of which pin is supported on a bolt housing I4', the housing being riveted or welded to the plate. The inner end of pin I4 extends through and is supported on the plate I9 and is provided with a somewhat pear-shaped enlarged head I extending alongside of the inner face of the plate Il l.

The construction ofthe rotary bolt andthe latch and pavvly mechanism provided for holding it in fully latched position or door-latching position is similar to the construction shown in my prior filed pending application LSerial No. 632,302led December 3, 1945, now Patent No.

According to sucha construction, the latching arm I3 of therotary bolt carries apin I6 which extends te the inner side of the latch casing plate I0 through a curvedwslot Il and pivotally supp-Orts on its inner Bild a pawl I8. The pawl is biased Ain a counter-clockwise direction, as Figure Iiillustratesby` means of a spring I9, one end of which is crimped in a slot 20 provided in the enlarged inner endv of the pin I6, while the other end AZI of the spring is hooked over an arm 22 integral with the pawl. The 11D- per end of the pawl I8 has an offset head 2 3 which is positioned, during latching of the door, in contact with the serrated upper surface 24 of a ratchetarmr25, one end of which is'pivotally supported on a post 26 anchored on the latch casing plate I Il, the other or free end 21 of the ratchet arm being supported upon a shoulder 23 provided on the upper edge portion of the safety latch plate 29. r A Y U Y A The safety latch-plate, generally indicatedras 29, is pivotally mounted upon Aa post 38 secured to latch casing plate II asillustratedin Figure 8, the enlarged head 3| of this post serving also to retain a cover plate 32 which assures that *the free end 33 of the spring 34 will remain in contact with the bottoniI edge of the safety latch to exert a pressure tending to rotate the safety latch counter-clockwise as Yshown in Figure 7. The other end of the spring 34 may be secured by crimping it between a pair of ears 35 and 35 struck out from the casing plate I I. The .safety latch plate not only provides the shoulder 28 which normally supports v the free end of the ratchet member 25, but it also provides a safety latch nose 37, sometimes called herein the safety latch bolt. This safety latch bolt, or nose, projects through a slot 38 near the corner of the latch casing plate I0 and extends into and projects s'omewhat below a -portion of the outside housing for the rotary bolt.

The functioning of the ratchet and pawl mechanism for holding the rotary bolt in door-latching position will now be described', and reference may well be made to Figures 1, 4, 7, 10, 11 and 18 during this description. l

When the door is open, the pavvlloccupies the position shown in Figures 1 and tand the pawl arm 22 rests on top ofthe enlarged -pin head I5, dueto the action of the.s prirignil.` As the door is being closed, the safety latch bolt, or nose, 3l engages the incline'dstrike surface 39 of the keeper 40 and is retracted, the safety latch bolt eventually ridingover the horizontal surface 4I on the keeper and dropping down beyond the shoulder 42 of the keeper before the rotary bolt becomes engaged With the keeper. It may now be perceived that should the door at this time be closed no further, it will be held against opening beyond this safety position by the safety latch bolt.

The temporary retraction of the safety latch bolt, of course, removes the shoulder 28 from its supporting position under the free end 2l' of the lratchet arm 25 allowing that arm to drop down momentarily, but when the spring Sil restores the safety latch bolt to fully projected position, thefree end of the ratchet lever will again be supported as shown in Figure-8.

Further closing movement of the door enables the striker arm I2 of the rotary bolt to engage the downwardly inclined strike surface '33, and

vfurther 'closing movement of the door will enable the keeper to rotate the rotary bolt, and eventually the latchingarm I3 of the rotary bolt will rotate upwardly far enough so that if closing movement of the door stops, the latehing arm will then be opposed by the upwardly inclined latch surface dei on the upper keeper abutment, asillustrated in Figure 1l.

While this rotation of the rotary bolt is occurring, thepin I6 ycarried by the latching arm oi the rotary bolt will propel, in conjunction with the spring I9, the pawl IB to cause it to ride up on top of the serrated surface of the ratchet lever and advance along the serrated surface to- Ward the pivoted end ofV the ratchet, Even though the door be not closed tightly, if the rctary bolt is in latching engagement with the keeper, the head 23 of the pawl will engage somewhere along the serrated surface of the ratchet member and be clamped tightly downwardly thereupon by the spring I9 and thus hold tie rotary bolt against un-latching movement. Any force exerted against the door tending to open it will merely press the head of the pawl more rmly against the serrated surface of the ratchet and even more firmly hold the rotary bolt in latching position. Regardless of the amount of pressure of the pawl on the ratchet, the rotary bolt is readily released for unlatching movement merely by rotating the safety latch bolt out from under the free end of the ratchet lever.

When the safety latch bolt is retracted for the purpose of releasing the rotary bolt, that is, when the door is latched, .the pressure of the spring. I 9 exerted through the pawl It upon the ratchet lever 25 Will cause the ratchet lever to drop down, and, as the pawl is propelled toward normal position by the un-latching rotationk of the rotary bolt, it will be held out of engagement with the serrations on the ratchet lever because the arm 22 on the pawl will ride the top of the pear-'shaped head I5.

This latch mechanism provides inside and out- 'side controlled means for releasing the rotary bolt, in each case accomplishing this by retracting the safety latch bolt.

The inside latch-release mechanism employs an inside handle mounted Aon the inside surfaces of thedoor, butnot vshown herein as the usual pivoted handle Well knownin the art may he employed. suitably connected for operation by the inside handle isa reciprocating link d privided with a horizontal extending slot 45 engaging a pin d'1 secured to the safety latch plate 2S and movable through `a slot 43 inrlatch casing plate l I Referring to Figure 2, if the link 45 is pulled to the right, the left end of the slot 4B will engage the pin 4l and rotate the safety latch plate in clockwise direction. If the rotary bolt is in door-latching position, its associated pawl and ratchet will be released and the door then may be opened. Should the door be unlatched by means of the outside handle, the slot 4S will permit the pin 41 to move therein without causing the link 45 to reciprocate.

The means for unlatching the door from the outside is somewhat more complex and includes a link 4S whose lower end is pivotally secured -by means of a pivot pin 5!! directly to the safety latch plate. The slot 5| provided in the casing plate H merely aords room for a suitable head on the pin 5t.

Figures 25 and 26 more clearly illustrate the configuration of the link 4S. Its upper flanged end is provided with a vertically extending slot 52. A post 53 fixed in the `bell crank 54 extends through the slot 52 and is provided with anenlarged head as shown. The flanged portion 55 is bent at right angles from the general plane of the link 49.

The bell crank itself is pivotally mounted upon a post 55 anchored to the latch casing plate Il) and a spring wound about the post 56 has one end 5l engaged with an ear 58 projecting from the bell crank, and has its other end 5S extended through the small hole B (shown in Figure 25) in the link 49. This spring has an important function, which will later be described, in the matter of wiping out a locked condition of the outside latch controller should the inside handle be employed for opening the door when it is locked against unlatching from the outside. Another important function of the spring also will later be described when it can be more readily understood.

To cause a latch-releasing rotation of the bell crank, I provide a member termed the outside controller 6| which consists of a small plate from which extends a curved flange 62 having a horizontal slot 63 therein, the controller being both pivotally and slidably mounted upon a post 64 fixed on the latch casing plate i0. The inner end of the controller is provided with a slot Gt into which projects at all times a lateral flange El at the upper end of the bell crank. The lower margin of this slot is defined by the finger 58 while the upper margin of the slot is def-ined by the finger 69 which has an offset flange 7B which is at all times disposed between the arms 1| and 72 of the inside lock-control lever 'i3 pivotally mounted on pin 'M and arranged for oscillation by means of a push rod l5 pivotally connected to it as shown and the upper end of which extends preferably through the selvage at the lower edge of the door window. An over center spring l5 pivotally connected to the latch casing plate at i6 and to the arm 'Il of the lever 'I3 serves yieldably to maintain the lever in either of its two positions,

It is evident that by pushing downwardly on the push rod '|5, the arms and '|2 acting on the flange 'IB will rotate the outside controller to the locking position shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8.

However, when the lever 'I3 is in the unlocked position, as shown in Figure 6, and the controller is pressed inwardly, that is, pressed inwardly from the outside of the door, the post 64 and the ange 'In serve to guide the outside controller in 'a horizontal reciprocation and the controller acting on flange 61 of the bell crank 6 will cause the pin- 53 on thebell crank to thrust against the lower end of the slot 52 and the link 49 will thereby retract the safety latch, thus releasing the ratchet and pawl mechanism holding the rotary bolt in latched position.

For operating the outside controller, I provide mounted on the outside of the door a cylinder lock 78, the details of construction of which do not form a part of this invention, but which involves the following features. A fingeroperated push button 79 is spring loaded within the lock to extend normally beyond the outside surface of the cylinder lock. When the cylinder lock is in unlocked condition, a manual thrust upon the push button will cause the plunger 80 which is connected therewith to be reciprocated inwardly. This plunger has a reduced portion 8| shaped and proportioned so that it may slide into the slot 63 of the outside controller should they be aligned for such movement, as illustrated in Figure 15. Protruding from the end face 82 of the plunger is a pin or finger 83 which at all times extends into the slot 63.` But when the outside controller 6| is positioned as illustrated in Figure 13, if the push button 'I9 be thrust inwardly, the face 32 at the end of the reduced portion of the plunger will strike the flange 62 and cause the controller 6| to slide horizontally into the latch casing thereby causing rotation of the bell crank and the heretofore described movement of the link 49 to retract the safety latch bolt.

If it be desired t0 employ the key from the outside to render the outside controller ineffective to release the safety latch bolt, one may insert a suitable key into the key slot in the push button 'I9 and rotate the plunger 8| a quarter turn causing the pin 83 to move from the position shown in Figure 13 to the position shown""in Figure 14. Thereafter the key will be returned to normal position in order to withdraw it from the lock cylinder, and in so doing the plunger pin will be returned to the position shown in Figures 12 and 13. However, as the pin 83 moved from the position shown on Figure 13 to that shown in Figure 14, it will have caused the outer end of the outside controller 6| to be swung downwardly, due to the contact of pin I3 with the margin of slot 63. When the plunger is returned, however, to normal position for withdrawal of the key, the end face 82 of the plunger will be squarely aligned with the slot 63, and should anyone subsequently thrust inwardly on the push button lg, the reduced portion 8| of the plunger will merely enter the aperture 63 and fail to impart a latch-releasing movement to the outside controller. l

If the outside controller shall have been rotated into its inoperative or ineffective position, as illustrated in Figures 15, 16 and 8, due to either prior use of the key to a-ccomplish that result, or due to prior use of the inside push rod in the mechanism, the key may nevertheless be employed to restore the controller to its normal operative position. When the key is again inserted into the cylinder lock, the plunger may be rotated from the position shown in Figure 16 to that shown in Figure 17 during whichmovement the pin 83 will rock the outside controller back to its normal position after which the plunger may be rotated back to its normal position for withdrawal of the key. This restores the relative position of the end of the plunger and `the slot 63 to that which is illustrated in Figure 13, and subsequent pressure on the outside o! the push button will he effective to push the outside controller inwardly and release the latch.

It will now be apparent that the inside push rod mechahisxnwhich controls the lock control lever 'I3 may likewise be employed to rotate the controller to normal operative or inoperative positions thus to control the use of the outside push button. t

It has been stated heretofore that the spring wrapped around the 'post 5E, which ailords pivotal support for the hell crank, has several irnportant functions. Let it be assumed that the outside controller El has 'o'e'en rocked to its locking or ineilective position, that is, the position illustrated in Figure. While the position of the pawl i8 shown in Figure 8 indicates that the rotary bolt is in fully un-latched position, this portion of Figure 8 may for the present be ignored` lf the inside handle, that is, mounted on the inside of', the door, be 'employed when the door is latched 'and the outside controller is in locked position, to unlatch the door the link i5 will of course act directly upon the safety latch bolt and rock it to unlatched position, thus releasing the ratchet pa'wl mechanism Which holds the rotary bolt against unlatching movement. This unlatching rotation oi the safety latch bolt will draw the operating link 59 downwardly. The pin '53 at that time is in the lower end of the slot 52 in the upper end of the link Q9, hence the link t9 'itself Will have no direct pull on the bell crank. However, this spring, being connected to the cell crank and link as described, will cause the heil crank 'to rotate clockwise, as Figure 8 is viewed,

maintaining the bottoni of the slot E2 against the pin 53. During this clockwise rotation of the bell crank, the bell crank ilange 6'? will pull downwardly on 'the linger '68 of the outside controller and cause the controller to be restored to its normal horizontal position, thus wiping out the .f

locked condition of the latch mechanism, Hence, if the operator unlatch and unlock the door from' the inside by means of the inside handle and Vstep out, when he slams 'the door closed the latch mechanism will hold the door latched, but it will 'not lock it.

However, I have made lprovision in this latch mechanism to enable the operator, while the door is open, to 'shift the outside controller to its locked position by means of the push rod and close the door Without releasing the lock. If it be desired that the door remain locked during closing, the operator need only to press inwardly on the outside push button and hold it in its innermost position While he is closing the door. This action during the door `closing movement insertsthe reduced portion 8l of the plunger into the slot 63 of the outside controller, and even 'though the `spring wrapped around the post 5B :might otherwise have wiped out the locked condition as the link i9 is pulled downwardly by the temporary retraction of the safety latch holt as it rides into the keeper, the position of the outside controller, as illustrated in Figure 8, 'will prevent the bell crank from rotating. The slot 52 at the upper end of the link t9 Will merely slide along the pin 53 substantially to its full `extent and then when the safety latch bolt is restored vto normal position the upper end of the slot 52 will again rise to the position as shown in Figure 8 and the door will remain in locked position when it is fully closed.

It will now be appreciated that the latch mechanism herein shown is simple, rugged, durable,and has many Iof the functional. features '8 desired in automobile door latches at the present time. This latch provided with key control may he applied to either front door as is customarily desired.

On the other hand, in the case of four-door cars Where key locks are not usually applied to the rear doors, the latch requires only a slight change for use without a key. When such a latch is installed on a rear door, only the inside push rod control including the rod l5 and the rocking lever '53 may be employed for directly 'rocking the outside controller. When applied to a rear door without key control, the plunger is not rotatable and will always remain in the position shown in Figures l2 and 13. Whenever the inside push rod is employed to rock the outside controller to locked position, the controller will thus be moved from the position. shown in Figure i3 to that shown in Figures l5 and 16, which Will align the slot G3 with the reduced end Si of the plunger, and any subsequent inward thrust on the plunger will merely cause it to enter this slot without any effective action on the outside controller.

While have described and illustrated in considerable detail a preferred embodiment of this invention, it should be clearly understood that it is susceptible of considerable modification and variation Without departure from the principles and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. En a door latch, a bolt and means for holding the same in latched position, an outside releasing mechanism for the holding means comprising an outside operator slidably and rotatably mounted having a flange portion provided with an aperture, a manually reciprocable plunger having a reduced end portion, a key-controlled lock connected with said plunger providing keycontrolled rotation of said plunger', a pin projecting from the end portion of said plunger and extending into said aperture, said pin being eiiective upon rotation of the plunger` by a key for rotatably shifting said operator to a doorlocking position where said aperture is aligned with said reduced portion and hack again to normal position where a margin of said aperture opposes the end of said reduced portion, said reduced portion on said plunger being shaped for slidingr into said aperture in the operator when the operator if; positioned in door-locking position.

2. In a door latch, a bolt and means for holding the same in latched position, an outside latch releasing mechanism comprising an outside operator slidably and rotatably .mounted .having a ila-nge portion Aprovided with an aperture, a manually recip-rocable plunger having a reduced end portion, a, key-controlled lock connected with said plunger providing key-controlled rotation of said plunger, a pin projecting from the end portion of said plunger and extending into said aperture, said pin `being effective upon rotation oi the plunger by a key for rotatably shifting said operator to a door-locking position where said aperture is aligned with said reduced portion and back again to normal position Where a margin of said aperture opposes the end of said reduced portion, said reduced portion on said plunger being shaped for sliding into said aperture in the operator when the operator is `positioned 'in door- .locking position, and inside operable vmeans independent of said :key-controlled plunger operatively connected With said operator for shifting 9 said operator to present said aperture into and out of alignment with the reduced portion of said plunger.

3. In a door latch mechanism, a bolt cooperable with a keeper for holding a door in latched position, means for positively holding said bolt against unlatching movement when in latched position, outside-controlled means for releasing said holding means comprising a reciprocable outside operatorand an intermediate member actuated thereby connected for releasing said holding means, said outside operator also being pivotally mounted and having a flange provided with an aperture, a manually reciprocable plunger having a reduced portion proportioned for sliding into said aperture, an operating finger projecting from the end of said reduced portion and extending into said aperture, key-controlled lock means for rotating said plunger enabling said finger to rotate said operator to and from or between boltreleasing and door-locking positions, whereby in door-locking position said aperture is aligned with the reduced portion of the plunger and in bolt-releasing position a margin of the aperture opposes the end of said plunger.

4. In a door latch mechanism having a bolt cooperable with a keeper for holding a door in latched position and means for positively restraining unlatching movement of said bolt, outside-controlled means for releasing said restraining means to permit unlatching movement of the bolt comprising an outside operator pivotally and reciprocably mounted, a bell crank and a boltreleasing member movable thereby and operatively connected with said bolt, said operator having a bifurcated inner end and at its outer end a fiange provided with an aperture, a lateral flange on said bell crank extending between said bifurcations, one of the fingers of said bifurcations having a lateral flange, a shiftable inside controller having a guide slot therein receiving said operator flange, a recip-rocable plunger positioned to engage said apertured flange when said operator is in unlocked position for reciprocating the operator, said controller being shiftable.L to rotate the operator to align its aperture with said plunger to render the latter ineffective to reciprocate the operator.

5. In a door latch having a bolt and means for holding the same in latched position including a safety latch plate, an outside bolt releasing mechanism comprising an outside operator reriprocably and rotatably mounted, said operator having a flange on its outer end, a link mechanism operated by inward reciprocation of said operator and having pivotal connection with said safety latch plate, a manually operable reciprocable plunger engageable with said iiange only when the operator is in unlocked position, and inside operable control means connected with said operator shiftable for rotating said operator and ilange out of the path of said plunger.

6. In a door latch having a bolt and means for holding the same in latched position including a safety latch plate, an outside bolt releasing mechanism comprising an outside operator reciprocably and rotatably mounted, said operator having a flange on its outer end, a link mechanism operated by inward reciprocation of said operator and having pivotal connection with said safety latch plate for releasing said holding means, a manually operable recip-rocable plunger engageable with said flange only when the operator is in unlocked position, and inside operable control means guiding the reciprocation of said operator when in its unlocked position and shiftable for rotating the operator to position said flange out of the path of said plunger.

7. In a door latch having a bolt and means for holding the same in latched position including a safety latch plate, an outside bolt releasing mechanism comprising an outside operator reciprocably and rotatably mounted, said operator having an outer flange, a link mechanism operated by inward reciprocation of said operator and having pivotal connection with said safety latch plate for releasing said holding means, a manually operable reciprocable key-rotatable plunger engageable with said flange only when the operator is in unlocked position, cooperating means on said plunger and operator eifective upon rotation of the plunger to shift the operator into position to render said plunger ineffective to slidably move said operator and inside operable control means connected with said operator and shiftable for rotating said flange out of the path of said plunger.

8. In a door latch having a safety latch plate, means projecting said safety latch plate into a latching position, outside controlled safety latch plate retracting means comp-rising a link pivotally connected with said safety latch plate, a bell crank having pivotal connection with said link, a pivotally and slidably mounted outside operating member, and cooperating means on said bell crank and operating member for pivoting said bell crank and shifting said link for retracting said safety latch plate upon inward slidable movement of said operating member, means engageable with said operating member, to effect inward slidable movement thereof, and other means engaging said operating member and selectivelg.7 operable to pivot said operating member into position to render said iirst means ineffective.

9. In a door latch mechanism having a safety latch plate, means projecting said safety latch plate into latching position, outside controlled safety latch plate retracting means comprising a link pivotally connected with said safety latch plate, a bell crank pivotally connected with said link, an outside operating member mounted for pivotal and slidable movement, cooperating means on said operating member and bell crank effective for rotating said bell crank and shifting said link to retract said safety latch plate upon inward slidable movement of said operating member, and a key operated member eifective to slidably move said operating member inwardly and having engaging connection with said operating member and operable to pivot said operating member into position to render said key operated member ineffective to move said operating member inwardly.

EDWARD D. DALL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

